Document Content

LAW

On Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law provides exit and entry of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; responsibilities of the state management agency of immigration and related agencies, organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Exit means a Vietnamese citizen’s departure from Vietnam’s territory through a Vietnamese border gate.

2. Entry means a Vietnamese citizen’s entry from abroad into Vietnam’s territory through a Vietnamese border gate.

3. Passport means a paper under the state ownership issued by a Vietnamese competent agency to a Vietnamese citizen for use for his/her exit or entry and for proving his/her citizenship and personal identity.

4. E-passport means a passport with an embedded electronic chip that contains encrypted information of its holder and digital signature of its issuer.

5. International travel document means a document issued by a Vietnamese competent agency to a Vietnamese citizen for traveling across the border under a treaty between Vietnam and its bordering country.

6. Immigration control means inspection, supervision and verification of persons and their immigration papers in accordance this Law.

7. Exit postponement means suspension of exit from Vietnam of a Vietnamese citizen for a specified period of time.

8. National database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens means a collection of information on Vietnamese citizens concerning their exit and entry activities which is digitalized, stored, managed and used via information infrastructure.

Article 3. Exit and entry principles

1. To comply with the Constitution and law of Vietnam and relevant treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

2. To ensure publicity, transparency and convenience for Vietnamese citizens; to closely and uniformly manage exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

3. To ensure national security and social order and security; to protect lawful rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens in exit and entry activities.

4. All violations of the law on exit and entry committed by agencies, organizations and individuals must be promptly detected and strictly handled in accordance with law.

Article 4. Prohibited acts

1. Intentionally providing untruthful information in order to get immigration papers issued, renewed or restored or to report on the loss thereof.

2. Forging or using forged immigration papers for exit, entry, travel or overseas residence.

3. Donating, presenting as gifts, buying, selling, borrowing, lending, renting, leasing, putting in pledge, or taking pledge of, immigration papers; destroying, erasing or modifying immigration papers.

4. Illegally using immigration papers, adversely affecting the State’s reputation or harming the State’s interests.

5. Taking advantage of exit or entry to infringe upon national security and social order and security of Vietnam, lawful rights and interests of agencies and organizations or life, health or lawful rights and interests of individuals.

6. Illegally leaving or entering the country; organizing, brokering, assisting, harboring, concealing, or creating conditions for, illegal exit or entry of others; traveling across the national border without completing the prescribed procedures.

7. Obstructing or resisting a person on official duty in the issuance of immigration papers or control of immigration.

8. Causing harassments or troubles, asking for additional papers, charges or fees, prolonging the time limit for completion of exit or entry procedures; preventing citizens from exercising their rights and performing their obligations provided in this Law.

9. Issuing immigration papers ultra vires or to ineligible persons; failing to prevent violations of the law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens according to competence.

10. Destroying, falsifying or disclosing information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; using information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens in contravention of law.

11. Seizing or failing to issue immigration papers, postponing or permitting exit in contravention of law.

Article 5. Rights and obligations of Vietnamese citizens

1. Vietnamese citizens have the following rights:

a/ To be granted immigration papers in accordance with this Law;

b/ Persons aged full 14 years or older may choose to get passports issued with or without embedded electronic chips;

c/ To make exit and entry in accordance with this Law;

d/ To have their secret personal and family information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens kept confidential, unless the provision of such information is required by law;

dd/ To request provision of information about their exit and entry; to request update or modification of their information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens or their immigration papers in order to ensure adequacy and accuracy of such information;

e/ To use their passports to conduct transactions or carry out other procedures in accordance with law;

g/ To file complaints or denunciations, initiate lawsuits or claim compensations in accordance with law.

2. Vietnamese citizens have the following obligations:

a/ To comply with Vietnam’s law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and laws of host countries when traveling abroad;

b/ To carry out procedures for application for immigration papers, renewal of passports or restoration of validity of their passports in accordance with this Law;

c/ To use immigration papers issued by the competent Vietnamese agency for exit or entry;

d/ To respond to requests of competent agencies or persons for checking of persons, luggage and immigration papers when exit or entry procedures are being carried out;

dd/ To pay immigration paper issuance fee as prescribed by law.

3. Persons who have lost their civil act capacity, persons with difficulties in perceiving and controlling their acts as specified in the Civil Code, and persons aged under full 14 years shall, through their at-law representatives, exercise their rights and perform their obligations in accordance with this Law.

Chapter II

IMMIGRATION PAPERS

Article 6. Immigration papers

1. Immigration papers include:

a/ Diplomatic passports;

b/ Official passports;

c/ Ordinary passports;

d/ International travel documents.

2. Passports with or without embedded electronic chips shall be issued to Vietnamese citizens aged full 14 years or older. Passports without embedded electronic chips shall be issued to Vietnamese citizens aged under full 14 years or issued according to summary procedures.

3. Information on an immigration paper includes a portrait photo; family name, middle name and first name; date of birth; gender; nationality; immigration paper code and number; date of issuance, issuing agency; expiry date; personal identification number or identity card number; and position or title, for diplomatic and official passports as required by external affairs.

Article 7. Validity duration of immigration papers

1. A diplomatic passport or an official passport is valid for between 1 year to 5 years and may be renewed once for no more than 3 years.

2. The validity duration of ordinary passports is prescribed as follows:

a/ An ordinary passport issued to a person aged full 14 years or older is valid for 10 years and may not be renewed;

b/ An ordinary passport issued to a person aged under full 14 years is valid for 5 years and may not be renewed;

c/ An ordinary passport issued according to summary procedures is valid for no more than 12 months and may not be renewed.

3. International travel documents are valid for no more than 12 months and may not be renewed.

Chapter III

ISSUANCE OF AND REFUSAL TO ISSUE IMMIGRATION PAPERS

Section 1

ISSUANCE OF DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS AND OFFICIAL PASSPORTS

Article 8. Persons eligible for diplomatic passports

1. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (below referred to as Party Central Committee), members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee (below referred to as the Politburo); members of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee; members and alternate members of the Party Central Committee; heads and deputy heads of the Party Central Committee’s agencies, other agencies established by the Party Central Committee, Politburo or Secretariat, and the Party Central Committee Office; members of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection; secretaries and deputy secretaries of provincial and municipal Party Committees and of the Party Committee of the Central Agencies’ Bloc and Central Businesses’ Bloc; special envoys, assistants to and secretaries of the General Secretary of the Party Central Committee; and assistants to Politburo members.

2. The Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons of the National Assembly; heads, deputy heads and permanent members of National Assembly’s Committees; heads and deputy heads of the National Assembly Standing Committee’s agencies and National Assembly Office; the Auditor General and Deputy Auditors General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam; deputies of the National Assembly; assistants to and secretaries of the National Assembly Chairperson.

3. The President and Vice Presidents; the Director and Deputy Directors of the President Office; special envoys, assistants to and secretaries of the President.

4. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers; ministers, deputy ministers, heads and deputy heads of ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and other agencies established by the Government; general directors of general departments or the equivalent; in-service officers with ranks of major general or naval rear-admiral or higher; special envoys, assistants to and secretaries of the Prime Minister.

5. Former General Secretaries of the Party Central Committee, former Presidents, former Chairpersons of the National Assembly, former Prime Ministers, former Politburo members, former members of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, former Vice Presidents, former Vice Chairpersons of the National Assembly, and former Deputy Prime Ministers.

6. The Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justices of the Supreme People’s Court.

7. The Procurator General and Deputy Procurators General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.

8. Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees.

9. The President, Vice Presidents, Secretary General and members of the Standing Body of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

10. The Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Vietnam Peasants’ Union, Vietnam Women’s Union and Vietnam War Veterans Association; the First Secretary and Permanent Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

11. Persons who are currently working in the diplomatic sector and have been conferred diplomatic titles or who are holding the position of attache or higher positions at overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions and permanent missions of inter-governmental international organizations, or overseas Vietnamese consular offices.

12. Diplomatic couriers, consular couriers.

13. Spouses of the General Secretary of the Party Central Committee, President, Chairperson of the National Assembly, Prime Minister, Politburo members, members of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, Vice Presidents, Vice Chairpersons of the National Assembly and Deputy Prime Ministers who accompany the latter during their working trips.

14. Spouses and under-18 children of the persons specified in Clause 11 of this Article who accompany or pay visits to the latter during their term of office.

15. In case of necessity, based on foreign relation or state protocol requirements or characteristics of working trips, the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall, under the direction of the Prime Minister, issue diplomatic passports, or, at the proposal of the competent agencies and persons specified in Article 11 of this Law, consider the issuance of diplomatic passports, to persons not specified in this Article.

Article 9. Persons eligible for official passports

1. Cadres and civil servants specified by the law on cadres and civil servants.

2. Public employees of public non-business units, including:

a/ Heads and deputy heads of public non-business units; heads and deputy heads of organizations of public non-business units under the Politburo, Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, National Assembly Standing Committee and Government;

b/ Heads and deputy heads of public non-business units; heads and deputy heads of organizations of public non-business units under commissions and equivalent agencies of the Party Central Committee, President Office, National Assembly Office, State Audit Office of Vietnam, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, and other agencies established by the Government or Prime Minister; the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and central agencies of socio-political organizations;

c/ Heads and deputy heads of public non-business units; heads and deputy heads of organizations of public non-business units under general departments or directorates, departments and the equivalent under ministries and ministerial-level agencies; provincial and municipal Party Committees; provincial-level People’s Committees; provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees and socio-political organizations;

d/ Heads of public non-business units of Party Committees of rural districts and urban districts, towns or cities under provincial or municipal Party Committees; specialized agencies of provincial-level and district-level People’s Committees;

dd/ Holders of working positions associated with state management tasks in public non-business units assigned to perform state management tasks.

3. Officers and professional military personnel in the People’s Army and People’s Public Security forces; persons engaged in cipher work in cipher organizations.

4. Stuffs of overseas Vietnamese representative missions; overseas correspondents of Vietnamese press and news agencies.

5. Spouses and under-18 children of the persons specified in Clause 4 of this Article who accompany or pay visits to the latter during their term of office.

6. When necessary, based on requirements and characteristics of working trips, the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall, under the direction of the Prime Minister, issue official passports, or, at the proposal of the competent agencies and persons specified in Article 11 of this Law, consider the issuance of official passports to persons not specified in this Article.

Article 10. Conditions for issuance of diplomatic passports or official passports

A Vietnamese citizen may be issued a diplomatic passport or an official passport if satisfying the following requirements:

a/ Being the person specified in Article 8 or 9 of this Law;

b/ Having been assigned or permitted by a competent agency or person specified in Article 11 of this Law to go abroad on a working trip.

Article 11. Agencies and persons competent to permit and decide on assignment of persons who are eligible for diplomatic passports or official passports

1. The Politburo; Secretariat; Commissions, Departments and agencies of the Party Central Committee; other agencies established by the Party Central Committee, and Politburo and Secretariat of the Party Central Committee; the Office of the Party Central Committee; provincial and municipal Party Committees.

2. The National Assembly Standing Committee; the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly; agencies of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the Director of the National Assembly Office; the Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam.

3. The Prime Minister; ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and heads of government-attached agencies and other agencies established by the Government or Prime Minister.

4. The Director of the President Office.

5. The Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court.

6. The Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.

7. Standing bodies of provincial-level People’s Councils, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees.

8. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

9. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Vietnam Women’s Union Central Committee, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, Vietnam Peasants’ Union Central Committee and Vietnam War Veterans Association Central Committee.

10. For staffs managed by the Politburo and Secretariat of the Party Central Committee, relevant regulations shall be applied.

11. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and other agencies established by the Government or Prime Minister, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees may authorize heads of their attached units to send or permit cadres, civil servants and public employees abroad on working trips and also send a notice thereof to agencies competent to issue passports.

Article 12. Issuance and renewal of diplomatic passports and official passports in the country

1. An applicant a for passport or for passport renewal shall submit a declaration form filled in with sufficient information, 2 portrait photos and relevant papers specified in Clause 2 of this Article to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. Papers related to passport application or passport renewal application include:

a/ Assignment decision or written permission of a competent agency or person for a person to go abroad, clearly identifying the person eligible for passport issuance;

b/ Written approval of the agency or person competent to assign persons to go abroad, for the persons specified in Clauses 13 and 14, Article 8; and Clause 5, Article 9, of this Law, or decision and written approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the persons specified in Clause 14, Article 8; and Clause 5, Article 9, of this Law;

c/ Latest diplomatic passport or official passport; in case the passport is lost, a notice thereof of the passport holder-managing agency is required;

d/ Diplomatic passport or official passport that remains valid for less than 12 months, for those applying for passport renewal;

dd/ A copy of people’s identity card, citizen identity card or another personal identification paper and the original thereof for checking;

e/ A copy of people’s identity card, citizen identity card or birth certificate, a duplicate of the birth certificate or the adoption certificate, for under-18 persons specified in Clause 14, Article 8; and Clause 5, Article 9, of this Law, or and the originals thereof for checking;

g/ A letter of introduction of the agency or organization of the applicant’s representative whose personal identification papers are required.

3. A responsible person shall receive the application, portrait photos and relevant papers; check information therein with that in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; take photos and collect fingerprints of first-time applicants for passports with embedded electronic chips; and issue a written appointment stating the date of notification of application processing results.

4. Within 5 working days after receiving a passport or passport renewal application, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall issue or renew the passport, issue a diplomatic note for visa application and notify results; in case of refusal to issue or renew the passport, it shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason.

5. A person who apply for a diplomatic passport or an official passport or for renewal of his/her diplomatic passport or official passport in the country shall pay delivery service charge if wishing to receive his/her passport at a location other than that specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

Article 13. Overseas issuance and renewal of diplomatic passports and official passports overseas

1. A diplomatic passport or an official passport shall be issued or renewed abroad for:

a/ A person whose diplomatic passport or official passport is lost or damaged, runs out of pages or becomes expired during a working trip abroad;

b/ A person being a member of an overseas Vietnamese representative mission or being an overseas correspondent of a Vietnamese press or news agency, provided that his/her position is changed;

c/ A person residing abroad and appointed as a member of an overseas Vietnamese representative mission or an overseas correspondent of a Vietnamese press or news agency;

d/ Spouse or an under-18 child who is on visit to or accompanies, or an overseas newborn of, a member of an overseas Vietnamese representative mission or an overseas correspondent of a Vietnamese press or news agency.

2. An applicant for a passport or for renewal of his/her passport shall submit a declaration form filled with sufficient information, 2 portrait photos and relevant papers specified in Clause 3 of this Article to an overseas Vietnamese representative mission.

3. Papers related to overseas issuance or renewal of a diplomatic passport or an official passport include:

a/ Assignment decision or written permission of a competent agency or person for a person to go abroad, clearly identifying the person eligible for the passport issuance or renewal for the persons specified at Points a and d, Clause 1 of this Article; a copy or duplicate of birth certificate, for overseas newborns;

b/ Document of a competent agency and person on appointment of or change of working position, for the persons specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article;

c/ Diplomatic passport or official passport that remains valid for less than 12 months, for application for passport renewal;

d/ Latest diplomatic passport or official passport; in case the passport is lost, a notice thereof to an overseas Vietnamese representative mission is required.

4. A responsible person shall receive the application, portrait photos and relevant papers; check information therein with that in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; take photos and collect fingerprints of first-time applicants for passports with embedded electronic chips; and issue a written appointment stating the date of notification of application processing results.

5. Within 5 working days after receiving the application, an overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall issue or renew the passport, issue a diplomatic note for visa application and notify results; in case additional time is needed for verification or in case of refusal to renew the passport, the mission shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason, and send a notice thereof to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if the mission’s system is not yet connected with the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Section 2

ISSUANCE OF ORDINARY PASSPORTS

Article 14. Persons eligible for ordinary passports

Vietnamese citizens, except those specified in Article 21 of this Law, shall be considered for issuance of ordinary passports.

Article 15. Issuance of ordinary passports in the country

1. A passport applicant shall submit a declaration form filled in with sufficient information, 2 portrait photos and relevant papers specified in Clause 2 of this Article; produce his/her people’s identity card, citizen identity card or passport that remains valid.

2. Papers related to the issuance of an ordinary passport in the country include:

a/ A copy of birth certificate or duplicate of birth certificate, for under-14 persons;

b/ Latest ordinary passport, for persons who have obtained passports; in case the passport is lost, a report on passport loss or a notice of receipt of passport loss report issued by a competent agency specified in Article 28 of this Law is required;

c/ A copy of people’s identity card or citizen identity card, for persons whose personal information changes compared to that in their latest passports;

d/ Certified copies of papers granted by competent Vietnamese agencies proving the at-law representative of a person who has lost his/her civil act capacity, a person with difficulties in perceiving and controlling his/her acts specified in the Civil Code or an under-14 person. For uncertified copies, their originals are required for checking.

3. First-time passport application procedures shall be carried out at immigration office of the provincial-level Department of Public Security of the locality where the applicant registers his/her permanent residence or temporary residence; or at the immigration office of the provincial-level Department of Public Security, which is convenient for the applicant, for those with citizen identity cards.

4. A first-time passport applicant may carry out procedures at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security if:

a/ There is a hospital’s letter of introduction or request for overseas medical examination and treatment;

b/ There are grounds for concluding that his/her overseas relative was hit by an accident, sick or dead;

c/ There is a written request of his/her direct managing agency, for cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers, non-commissioned officers, professional military personnel, workers and public employees in the armed forces and persons working in cipher organizations; or,

d/ For a humanitarian or emergency reason as decided by the head of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

5. Passport application procedures from the second time onward shall be carried out at immigration offices of provincial-level Departments of Public Security which are convenient for applicants, or the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

6. A responsible person shall receive a passport application, portrait photos and relevant papers; check information therein with that in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; take photos and collect fingerprints of the first-time applicant for passport with embedded electronic chips; and issue a written appointment stating the date of notification of application processing results.

7. Within 8 working days after receiving a passport application, the immigration office of the provincial-level Department of Public Security shall notify processing results to the applicant. Within 5 working days after receiving an application, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall notify results to the applicant. For the cases specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the time limit for processing the application is 3 working days from the date of application receipt. In case of refusal to issue a passport, the immigration department shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason.

8. A passport applicant shall pay delivery service charge if he/she wishes to receive his/her passport at a location other than that specified in Clause 7 of this Article.

Article 16. Overseas issuance of ordinary passports

1. A passport applicant shall submit a declaration form filled in with sufficient information, 2 portrait photos and relevant papers specified in Clause 2, Article 15 of this Law and produce his/her Vietnamese passport or a personal identification paper issued by the competent Vietnamese agency.

If having no Vietnamese passport or personal identification paper issued by the competent Vietnamese agency, the passport applicant may produce a personal identification paper issued by a foreign competent agency and a paper proving his/her Vietnamese citizenship or a paper for use as a ground for determining Vietnamese citizenship in accordance with the law on citizenship.

2. First-time passport application procedures shall be carried out at a Vietnamese representative mission of the country where the applicant resides. Passport application procedures from the second time onward shall be carried out at an overseas Vietnamese representative mission which is convenient for the applicant.

3. A responsible person shall receive an application, portrait photos and relevant papers; check information therein with that in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; take photos and collect fingerprints of the first-time applicant for passport with embedded electronic chip; and issue a written appointment stating the date of notification of request processing results.

4. Within 5 working days after receiving a first-time passport application or 3 working days after receiving an application for a passport from the second time onward, if having sufficient grounds to issue a passport, an overseas Vietnamese representative mission receiving the application shall notify application processing results to the applicant and send a notice thereof to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, and the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in case the mission’s system is not yet connected with the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

In case grounds for passport issuance are insufficient or more time is needed for having grounds for passport issuance, an overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason.

5. Extended time for having grounds for passport issuance as specified in Clause 4 of this Article is as follows:

a/ Within 3 working days after receiving an application, an overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall send a document, made according to a provided form, to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security for verification according to their competence;

b/ Within 15 days after receiving a document of information exchange, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall issue written replies to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission;

c/ Within 2 working days after receiving replies from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall issue a passport to the applicant; in case of refusal to issue a passport, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason.

6. A passport applicant shall pay delivery service charge if he/she wishes to receive his/her passport at a location other than that specified in Clause 2 of this Article

Section 3

ISSUANCE OF ORDINARY PASSPORTS ACCORDING TO SUMMARY PROCEDURES

Article 17. Persons eligible for ordinary passports issued according to summary procedures

1. Persons losing their ordinary passports while going abroad and wishing to return home immediately.

2. Persons subject to expulsion decisions issued by competent agencies of host countries and having no passports.

3. Persons required to return home under treaties or international agreements on acceptance of repatriating citizens.

4. Persons eligible for issuance of ordinary passports for national defense and security reasons.

Article 18. Issuance of ordinary passports according to summary procedures

1. Procedures for issuance of an ordinary passport for a definite term to a person losing his/her passport while going abroad and wishing to return home immediately are as follows:

a/ A passport applicant shall submit a report on his/her passport loss, a declaration form filled in with sufficient information, and 2 portrait photos, and produces his/her personal identification paper issued by the competent Vietnamese agency, if any;

b/ Within 2 working days after receiving the application, an overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall consider and decide to issue a passport and notify such result to the applicant and concurrently send a notice thereof to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security in case the mission’s system is not yet connected with the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens;

c/ In case grounds for passport issuance are insufficient, within 2 working days after receiving the application, an overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall send a document, made according to a provided form, to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security for verification, and concurrently notify such in writing to the applicant;

d/ Within 2 working days after receiving a document of information of exchange, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall issue a written reply to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission on passport issuance;

dd/ Within 1 working day after receiving a written reply, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall issue a passport and notify application processing results to the applicant; in case of refusal to issue a passport, it shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason;

e/ In case a domestic relative fills in an applicant’s declaration form, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall receive and examine the application and issue a reply to the relative and concurrently send a notice thereof to an overseas Vietnamese representative mission within 2 working days after receiving the application. Within 1 working day after receiving a notice, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall receive photos of the applicant and issue an ordinary passport and notify the result thereof.

2. Procedures for issuance of an ordinary passport to a person subject to an expulsion decision issued by a host country’s competent agency and having no passport are as follows:

a/ An overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall receive the expulsion decision issued by the host country’s competent agency enclosed with 2 portrait photos of the expelled person;

b/ Within 2 working days after receiving the host country’s expulsion decision, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall send information about the expelled person according to a provided form to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security;

c/ Within 15 days after receiving the overseas Vietnamese representative mission’s request, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall verify the information and issue a written reply to the mission;

d/ The overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall issue an ordinary passport with a definite validity duration according to the notice of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

3. Procedures for issuance of an ordinary passport to a person required to return home under a treaty or an international agreement on acceptance of repatriating citizens are as follows:

a/ The Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall receive and handle the request of the foreign side under the treaty or international agreement on acceptance of repatriating citizens;

b/ In case of accepting the repatriating citizen, the Immigration Department shall issue an ordinary passport with a definite validity duration of up to 6 months and hand it over to the foreign side as required by the treaty or international agreement.

4. The Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall issue ordinary passports or send notices permitting overseas Vietnamese representative missions to issue ordinary passports under decisions of the Minister of Public Security for national defense and security reasons.

Section 4

ISSUANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

Article 19. Persons eligible for international travel documents

1. Vietnamese citizens residing in administrative units at commune, district or provincial level that border the neighboring countries.

2. Cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers in agencies, organizations and businesses in the provinces that border the neighboring countries.

3. Cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers in agencies, organizations and businesses at the central level or in other localities but having their head offices located in the provinces that border the neighboring countries.

4. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 20. Issuance of international travel documents

1. An international travel document applicant shall submit his/her dossier and receive dossier processing results at a competent agency specified in Clause 2 of this Article. In case of refusal to grant an international travel document, a competent agency or dossier-receiving person shall issue a written reply to the applicant, clearly stating the reason.

2. Public security offices of communes, wards and townships, public security divisions of rural districts, urban districts, towns and provincial cities, and immigration offices of provincial-level Departments of Public Security of localities that border the neighboring countries shall issue international travel documents to the persons specified in Article 19 of this Law.

3. The Government shall prescribe in detail order, procedures and competence for issuance of international travel documents; and prescribe revocation and invalidation of international travel documents.

Section 5

REFUSAL TO ISSUE IMMIGRATION PAPERS

Article 21. Persons not yet eligible for immigration papers

1. Persons who have not yet abided by decisions on sanctioning administrative violations prescribed in Clause 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, Article 4 of this Law.

2. Persons whose exit is postponed, except those specified in Clause 12, Article 37 of this Law.

3. Persons falling into cases not yet eligible for immigration papers for national defense and security reasons under decisions of the Minister of National Defense or Minister of Public Security.

Article 22. Time limit for refusal to issue immigration papers

1. The time limit for refusal to issue immigration papers to the persons specified in Clause 1, Article 21 of this Law shall be counted until the complete execution of relevant administrative sanctioning decisions.

2. The time limit for refusal to issue immigration papers to the persons specified in Clause 2, Article 21 of this Law shall be counted according to the exit postponement period applicable to such persons.

3. The time limit for refusal to issue immigration papers to persons specified in Clause 3, Article 21 of this Law shall be counted until there are no impacts on national defense and security under decisions of the Minister of National Defense or Minister of Public Security.

Chapter IV

MANAGEMENT, USE, REVOCATION, INVALIDATION AND RESTORATION OF IMMIGRATION PAPERS

Section 1

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF IMMIGRATION PAPERS

Article 23. Responsibilities of immigration paper holders

1. To keep and preserve immigration papers; to immediately notify the loss of immigration papers to a competent agency; to carry out procedures for issuance of new ones in case immigration papers are damaged, there are changes in personal information, identification features, or of gender reassignment.

2. To use only one type of immigration paper that remains valid for each exit or entry.

3. Within 5 working days after leaving or entering the country, to return their diplomatic passports or official passports to the passport-managing agencies or persons specified in Clause 1, Article 24 of this Law, unless they have plausible reasons as decided by heads of their agencies.

4. Upon change of their working places, to notify the passport-managing agencies or persons of places from and to which they move to serve the management of diplomatic passports or official passports in accordance with this Law.

Article 24. Management of diplomatic passports and official passports

1. The competent agencies or persons specified in Article 11 of this Law or agencies or persons authorized to manage diplomatic passports and official passports shall:

a/ Manage diplomatic passports and official passports of cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers and professional military personnel in the People’s Army and People’s Public Security forces, and persons engaged in cipher work under their management;

b/ Manage diplomatic passports and official passports of their relatives as specified in Clauses 13 and 14, Article 8; and Clause 5, Article 9, of this Law, who accompany or pay visits to them during their terms of office and whom they shall manage.

2. Order and procedures for management of a diplomatic passport or official passport are as follows:

a/ Making a book to monitor the handover and receipt of the passport and ensuring absolute safety for the passport when kept at the passport-managing agency;

b/ Handing over the passport to the holder who has an assignment decision to go abroad on a working trip. Signatures of the persons that hands over and receives the passport are required;

c/ Forwarding the passport to the new passport-managing agency or person when the passport holder is transferred to a new working position;

d/ Notifying in writing the competent agency or person of the passport holder’s intentional failure to return the passport to the passport-managing agency or person or his/her use of the passport in contravention of law;

dd/ Immediately notifying in writing the passport-issuing agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security of the loss or damage of the passport;

e/ Transferring the passport to the passport-issuing agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for invalidation in case the passport holder is no longer eligible for a diplomatic passport or official passport;

g/ Reporting to a competent agency for handling a violation being the improper use or management of the passport.

Article 25. Use of diplomatic passports and official passports

1. A person who holds a diplomatic passport or an official passport may use such passport when going abroad under an assignment decision or a written approval of a competent agency or person specified in Article 11 of this Law, unless he/she goes abroad to study for more than 6 months.

2. The use of diplomatic passports or official passports for overseas working trips must conform with assignment decisions and working requirements.

Article 26. Use of ordinary passports and international travel documents

1. A Vietnamese citizen who holds an ordinary passport may use such passport for his/her exit or entry, unless his/her exit is postponed.

2. A Vietnamese citizen who holds international travel documents may use such documents to travel across the border and carry out activities in neighboring countries under treaties between Vietnam and bordering countries, unless his/her exit is postponed.

Section 2

REVOCATION, INVALIDATION AND RESTORATION OF VALIDITY OF PASSPORTS

Article 27. Cases in which passports are revoked or invalidated

1. Invalidation of lost passports that remain valid.

2. Revocation or invalidation of passports of persons who renounce their Vietnamese citizenship, are deprived of Vietnamese citizenship or for whom decisions on their naturalization in Vietnam are annulled.

3. Revocation or invalidation of diplomatic passports or official passports that remain valid of persons who are no longer eligible for use of such passports.

4. Revocation or invalidation of passports of the persons specified in Clause 1, Article 21 of this Law.

Article 28. Invalidation of lost passports that remain valid

1. The invalidation of a diplomatic passport or an official passport is prescribed as follows:

a/ The agency directly managing the passport holder shall send a notice of passport loss as soon as possible to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an overseas Vietnamese representative mission, whichever is more convenient;

b/ Within 1 working day after receiving the notice, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall invalidate the passport and send a notice thereof, made according to a provided form, to the notice-sending agency and the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, and the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in case the mission’s system is not yet connected with the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

2. The invalidation of an ordinary passport is prescribed as follows:

a/ Within 48 hours after detecting that his/her passport is lost, the passport holder shall directly submit or send his/her report on passport loss, made according to a provided form, to the immigration office which is convenient, the nearest public security office or the immigration control office at the border gate or an overseas Vietnamese representative mission which is convenient. In case of a force majeure reason, the time limit for submission or sending of such a report may be extended but the force majeure reason must be clearly explained in the report;

b/ Within 1 working day after receiving the report on passport loss, the report-receiving agency shall send a notice, made according to a provided form, to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security and the passport holder. Within 1 working day after receiving the notice, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall invalidate the passport.

Article 29. Revocation or invalidation of passports of persons who renounce their Vietnamese citizenship, are deprived of their Vietnamese citizenship or for whom decisions on naturalization in Vietnam are cancelled

1. Within 30 days after issuing a decision on permission for renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship, deprivation of Vietnamese citizenship or cancellation of the decision on naturalization in Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall send a notice thereof to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security if the person who renounces his/her Vietnamese citizenship, is deprived of Vietnamese citizenship or for whom the decision on naturalization in Vietnam is cancelled is residing in the country; or to an overseas Vietnamese representative mission if such person is residing abroad.

2. Within 3 working days after receiving the notice, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall examine, revoke or invalidate the passport which remains valid.

3. Within 3 working days after receiving the notice, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall examine, revoke or invalidate the passport which remains valid and send a notice thereof to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security and the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in case the mission’s system is not yet connected with the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Article 30. Revocation or invalidation of diplomatic passports or official passports of persons who are no longer eligible for use of such passports

1. Persons who are no longer eligible for use of diplomatic passports or official passports include:

a/ Diplomatic passport or official passport holders who are dead or missing;

b/ Diplomatic passport holders whose posts or titles or family relations are changed, making them no longer eligible for diplomatic passports as specified in Article 8 of this Law;

c/ Official passport holders whose working positions or family relations are changed, making them no longer eligible for official passports as specified in Article 9 of this Law.

2. For a person who is no longer eligible for diplomatic passport or official passport, the passport-managing agency or person shall send a written request for revocation or invalidation of his/her diplomatic passport or official passport, made according to a provided form, to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. Within 1 working day after receiving the request, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the agency authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall invalidate the passport and send a notice thereof to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security in case the mission’s system is not yet connected with the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Article 31. Revocation or invalidation of passports of persons not yet eligible for issuance of immigration papers for their commission of prohibited acts

1. When having grounds to believe that a person who has obtained a passport but is not yet eligible for issuance of immigration papers as specified in Clause 1, Article 21 of this Law, the passport-issuing agency shall check and request him/her to return the passport which remains valid for invalidation.

2. If unable to revoke a passport which remains valid, the passport-issuing agency shall invalidate the passport.

Article 32. Restoration of validity of ordinary passports

1. In case an ordinary passport has been invalidated because it is lost in the country, then it is found and remains intact and its holder has a foreign-issued visa which remains valid, such passport may have its validity restored.

2. A person who requests restoration of validity of his/her passport shall fill in the request form enclosed with the passport and submit it to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security or immigration office of the provincial-level Department of Public Security, whichever is convenient for him/her.

3. A responsible person shall receive the request form, and check information therein with that in the passport and issue a written appointment stating the date of notification of request processing results.

4. Procedures for restoration of validity of ordinary passports shall be carried out at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

5. Within 3 working days after receiving a request for restoration of validity of a passport, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall return the passport with restored validity to the requester; if refusing the restoration, it shall reply in writing, clearly stating the reason.

Within 5 working days after receiving a request for restoration of validity of a passport, the immigration office of the provincial-level Department of Public Security shall return the passport with restored validity to the requester; if refusing the restoration, it shall reply in writing, clearly stating the reason.

Chapter V

EXIT, ENTRY, EXIT POSTPONEMENT

Article 33. Conditions for exit

1. A Vietnamese citizen may leave the country when fully meeting the following conditions:

a/ Having an immigration paper which remains intact and unexpired; for a passport, its validity duration must be at least full 6 months;

b/ Having a visa or another paper certifying or evidencing the country of destination that permits his/her entry, unless he/she is entitled to visa exemption;

c/ Neither being banned from exit nor having his/her exit postponed in accordance with law.

2. In addition to the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, persons having lost their civil act capacity and persons with difficulties in perceiving or controlling their acts as defined in the Civil Code, and persons aged under 14 years shall be accompanied by their lawful representatives.

Article 34. Conditions for entry

Vietnamese citizens may enter the country when their immigration papers remain intact and unexpired.

Article 35. Control of exit and entry

1. Upon exit or entry, a Vietnamese citizen shall produce to the person performing the immigration control task or automatic control door the papers specified at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 33, and Article 34, of this Law, unless he/she enters or leaves the Vietnamese territory on a national defense and security vehicle to perform national defense and security tasks.

For persons specified in Clause 2, Article 33 of this Law, their lawful representatives shall produce papers proving their lawful representation.

2. A person performing the immigration control task shall check conditions for exit or entry for a Vietnamese citizen under Article 33 or 34 of this Law and compare them with information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens, and shall:

a/ Permit the citizen to leave or enter the country, if he/she fully satisfies the conditions for exit or entry;

b/ Make a written record and refuse to permit the citizen to leave the country, if he/she fails to fully satisfy the conditions for exit;

c/ Take handling measures prescribed by the law on handling of administrative violations before permitting the citizen to enter the country, if he/she fails to fully satisfy the conditions for entry;

d/ Carry out inspection under a decision of the Minister of Public Security or Minister of National Defense, for the case specified in Clause 3, Article 21 of this Law.

3. The Government shall prescribe in detail immigration control with automatic control doors; and prescribe immigration control for persons who leave or enter the Vietnamese territory on national defense and security vehicles to perform national defense and security tasks.

Article 36. Persons whose exit is postponed

1. The accused and defendants; persons denounced or proposed to be subject to initiation of criminal proceedings who, through inspection and verification, are suspected to have committed a crime and it is necessary to immediately prevent them from absconding or destroying evidences in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.

2. Persons entitled to postponement of serving of their imprisonment sentences, persons entitled to suspension from serving of their imprisonment sentences, persons entitled to conditional early release during the probation period, persons entitled to suspended sentence during the probation period, and persons serving their non-custodial reform penalty during their sentence-serving period in accordance with the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments.

3. Obligors defined in the civil procedure law, if there are grounds to believe that the settlement of criminal cases relating to their obligations toward the State or agencies, organizations or individuals and their exit might affect the settlement of such criminal cases or affect the interests of the State or lawful rights and interests of such agencies, organizations or individuals, or to secure judgment execution.

4. Civil judgment debtors, and at-law representatives of agencies or organizations obliged to execute judgments or rulings in accordance with the law on execution of civil judgments whose exit is believed to affect the interests of the State or lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations or individuals, or to secure judgment enforcement.

5. Taxpayers, at-law representatives of enterprises coerced to execute administrative decisions on tax administration, Vietnamese leaving the country for overseas residence, and overseas Vietnamese who, before their exit, have not yet fulfilled the tax obligation as prescribed by the law on tax administration.

6. Persons coerced and representatives of organizations coerced to execute administrative sanctioning decisions, provided it is necessary to immediately prevent them from absconding.

7. Persons subject to inspection, examination or verification who are believed to have committed particularly serious violations, provided it is necessary to immediately prevent them from absconding.

8. Persons affected by a spread or infectious dangerous disease, provided it is necessary to immediately prevent its spreading or infection in the community, unless their entry is permitted by foreign authorities.

9. Persons whose exit is believed by a functional authority to affect national defense and security.

Article 37. Competence to decide on exit postponement, extend exit postponement period or cancel exit postponement

1. Competence to postpone exit of persons specified in Clause 1, Article 36 of this Law must comply with the criminal procedure law.

2. Agencies or persons competent to issue decisions on postponement of serving of imprisonment sentences, suspension from serving of imprisonment sentences, conditional early release, or execution of suspended sentence or non-custodial reform penalty may decide on postponement of exit of persons specified in Clause 2, Article 36 of this Law.

3. Competence to postpone exit of persons specified in Clause 3, Article 36 of this Law must comply with the civil procedure law.

4. Competence to postpone exit of persons specified in Clause 4, Article 36 of this Law must comply with the law on enforcement of civil judgments.

5. Heads of tax administrative offices defined by the law on tax administration may decide on postponement of exit of persons specified in Clause 5, Article 36 of this Law.

6. The Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees may decide on postponement of exit of persons specified in Clause 6, Article 36 of this Law at the proposal of issuers of decisions on coerced execution of administrative sanctioning decisions under his/her/their management.

7. Heads of central-level inspection or examination agencies may decide on postponement of exit of persons specified in Clause 7, Article 36 of this Law.

8. The Minister of Health may decide on postponement of exit of persons specified in Clause 8, Article 36 of this Law.

9. The Minister of National Defense or Minister of Public Security may decide on postponement of exit of persons specified in Clause 9, Article 36 of this Law.

10. Competent persons specified in Clauses 1 thru 7 of this Article may issue decisions on postponement of exit only within the ambit of their tasks and powers and of persons involved in criminal cases or matters falling under their competence.

11. Persons competent to issue decisions on postponement of exit may issue decisions on extension or cancellation of former decisions and shall take responsibility before law for their decisions.

12. In special cases, the Minister of Public Security shall reach agreement with issuers of decisions on exit postponement on permitting persons whose exit is postponed to leave the country.

Article 38. Exit postponement period, extension of the exit postponement period

1. The exit postponement period and extension of the exit postponement period are prescribed as follows:

a/ For persons specified in Clause 1, Article 36 of this Law, the exit postponement period must comply with the Criminal Procedure Law;

b/ For persons specified in Clauses 2 thru 6, Article 36 of this Law, the exit postponement period ends when the violators or obligors complete serving their sentences or executing decisions of competent agencies or persons as prescribed in this Law;

c/ For persons specified in Clause 7, Article 36 of this Law, the exit postponement period must not exceed 1 year and may be extended with each extension not exceeding 1 year;

d/ For persons specified in Clause 8, Article 36 of this Law, the exit postponement period must not exceed 6 months and may be extended with each extension not exceeding 6 months;

dd/ For persons specified in Clause 9, Article 36 of this Law, the exit postponement period shall be considered when their exit no longer affects national defense and security under decisions of the Minister of National Defense or Minister of Public Security.

2. For a person whose exit is postponed, if the exit postponement is not cancelled and the exit postponement period is not extended, upon the expiration of the period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, he/she will be automatically entitled to cancellation of exit postponement.

Article 39. Order and procedures for exit postponement, extension of the exit postponement period, and cancellation of exit postponement

1. Persons competent to decide on exit postponement shall send documents on postponement, made according to a provided form, to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, and also send notices thereof, made according to a provided form, to persons subject to exit postponement, except the case specified in Clause 9, Article 36 of this Law.

2. During the exit postponement period, when having sufficient grounds to cancel an exit postponement decision, a competent person specified in Article 37 of this Law shall send a document on cancellation of the exit postponement decision, made according to a provided form, to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, and immediately send a notice thereof, made according to a provided form, to a person whose exit is postponed.

3. Before the exit postponement period expires, if it needs to be extended, a competent person specified in Article 37 of this Law shall send a document on extension of the exit postponement period, made according to a provided form, to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, and immediately send a notice thereof, made according to a provided form, to a person subject to extension of the exit postponement period.

4. A competent person specified in Article 37 of this Law shall regularly check persons under his/her management whose exit is postponed in order to decide on extension of the exit postponement period or cancel exit postponement in accordance with Clause 2 or 3 of this Article.

5. The Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall organize exit postponement, extension of the exit postponement period, or cancellation of exit postponement immediately after receiving a decision from a competent person specified in Article 37 of this Law.

Chapter VI

NATIONAL DATABASE ON EXIT AND ENTRY OF VIETNAMESE CITIZENS

Article 40. Requirements for establishment and management of the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens

1. The national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens shall be established and managed at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security and synchronously connected to immigration offices, border-gate management agencies, agencies issuing immigration papers, and units controlling exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens which are under the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense or Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. The national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens shall be established in connection with databases on population, citizen identity cards, crimes, and citizenship, and other databases, and up to standards on database structure and standards or technical regulations on information technology, ensuring its uninterrupted, stable and safe operation and confidentiality.

3. Compliance with regulations and regimes on paperwork, e-transactions and information technology.

4. Information shall be collected and updated in an adequate, accurate and prompt manner, ensuring stable and safe operation of the database and confidentiality.

Article 41. Information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens

1. Information about a Vietnamese citizen to be collected and updated includes:

a/ Family name, middle name and first name stated in the birth certificate; family name, middle name and first name currently used;

b/ Date of birth;

c/ Gender;

d/ Portrait photo;

dd/ Fingerprints;

e/ Number, date of issuance, and issuer of the immigration paper;

g/ People’s identity card number or personal identification number;

h/ Exit from and entry in Vietnam;

i/ Date when the citizen notifies loss of his/her immigration paper;

k/ Revocation, invalidation or restoration of validity of the immigration paper;

l/ Other relevant information.

2. The collection and update of information to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens must comply with Article 42 of this Law.

Article 42. Collection and update of information to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens

1. Information about a Vietnamese citizen to be collected and updated to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens comes from:

a/ The national database on population, database on citizen identity cards and other national databases and specialized databases;

b/ Collected information about the citizen’s personal details, portrait photo and fingerprints in the process of carrying out procedures to request passport issuance and controlling exit and entry;

c/ Information updated and modified at the request of the citizen in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens or immigration paper of the citizen;

d/ Information provided by concerned agencies, organizations and individuals which is related to exit and entry of the citizen.

2. The collection and update of information to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens must comply with the following regulations:

a/ Only information confirmed as accurate after checking may be updated to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens;

b/ For information with inconsistent contents collected from different sources, the agency responsible for updating information shall check its legality before updating it to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and take responsibility for updated information.

3. Responsibility to collect and update information to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens is prescribed as follows:

a/ Agencies issuing immigration papers and immigration control units shall collect and immediately process information relating to issuance of passports as well as exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and update it to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; and take responsibility for updated information;

b/ Agencies managing the national database on population, database on citizen identity cards and other relevant national databases and specialized databases shall ensure uninterrupted connection of these databases to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens;

c/ The Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall collect and update information under its management; protect information and ensure information confidentiality in accordance with law.

4. Citizens and other agencies and organizations shall create conditions and provide information for agencies issuing immigration papers and units controlling exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens to collect and update information to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Article 43. Management and exploitation of the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens

1. The national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens is a common-use database serving the issuance and management of immigration papers and control of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens, and managed by the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

2. The exploitation of information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens shall be carried out as follows:

a/ The Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security shall prescribe the scope of exploitation and use of information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens;

b/ Agencies issuing immigration papers, border-gate management agencies and immigration control units shall, within the ambit of their functions, tasks and powers, exploit information in the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

3. The Government shall prescribe in detail the management of, and exploitation of information in, the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens for agencies, organizations and individuals.

Chapter VII

RESPONSIBILITY TO MANAGE EXIT AND ENTRY OF VIETNAMESE CITIZENS

Article 44. Responsibility for state management of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens

1. The Government shall perform the unified state management of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; and regulate online public services serving the issuance, management and control of passports of Vietnamese citizens.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in, taking responsibility before the Government for performing the state management of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Article 45. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Public Security

1. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and related ministries and sectors in, drafting and promulgating, or submitting to competent agencies for promulgation, legal documents on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens, and building the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; to guide exit postponement, extension of the exit postponement period, and cancellation of exit postponement.

2. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in, providing the process of collecting fingerprints of applicants for diplomatic passports, official passports or ordinary passports with embedded electronic chips; to guide in detail issuance, revocation and invalidation of ordinary passports.

3. To issue forms of immigration papers and other relevant papers in accordance with this Law after exchanging opinions with related ministries and sectors; to print, manage and provide immigration papers to citizens.

4. To issue ordinary passports and international travel documents, and inspect and control exit and entry at border gates under its management.

5. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, building, managing, collecting and updating information to, and exploiting, the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; to build and manage the information system for receiving, storing and exploiting digital certificates to serve issuance and management of passports with embedded electronic chips which is connected to the International Civil Aviation Organization in order to authenticate and control passports with embedded electronic chips.

6. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities in, formulating, disseminating and educating about the law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

7. To provide devices and training for persons engaged in managing the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

8. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense in, prescribing the control of exit and entry at border gates in accordance with this Law.

9. To carry out inspection and examination of, settle complaints and denunciations about, and handle, violations of the law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

10. To enter into international cooperation in the field of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in, signing, as assigned by the Government, international agreements for receiving Vietnamese citizens who are not accepted by foreign authorities for residence; to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in concluding treaties relating to exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

11. To provide the Ministry of National Defense with information and documents on violators of regulations on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens to serve exit and entry control work.

12. To make state statistics on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Article 46. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1. To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of National Defense in drafting legal documents on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and building the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

2. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in, specifically guiding procedures for issuance, renewal, revocation and invalidation of diplomatic passports or official passports issued by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overseas Vietnamese representative missions or agencies authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in specifically guiding procedures for issuance, revocation and invalidation of ordinary passports at overseas Vietnamese representative missions.

3. To issue, renew and invalidate diplomatic passports and official passports for Vietnamese citizens in the country.

4. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in, introducing forms of immigration papers to foreign authorities.

5. To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in building, collecting and updating information to, and exploiting, the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; to provide the Ministry of Public Security with personal identification information about persons competent to issue immigration papers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or overseas Vietnamese representative missions.

6. To carry out inspection and examination of, and settle complaints and denunciations related to, exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

7. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of National Defense in, concluding treaties relating to exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens, and receiving Vietnamese citizens who are not accepted by foreign authorities for residence.

Article 47. Responsibilities of the Ministry of National Defense

1. To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in drafting legal documents on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and building the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

2. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in, specifically guiding the process of exit and entry control at border gates under its management.

3. To control exit and entry at border gates under its management.

4. To carry out examination of, settle complaints and denunciations about, and handle, violations of the law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens at border gates under its management.

5. To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in building, collecting and updating information to, and exploiting, the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; to provide the Ministry of Public Security with information and documents on violators of the regulations on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

6. To coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security in concluding treaties relating to exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

Article 48. Responsibilities of overseas Vietnamese representative missions

1. To issue, extend, revoke and invalidate immigration papers in accordance with this Law.

2. To coordinate with the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security in collecting and updating information to and exploiting the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens; to notify in writing the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security and Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of personal identification information about persons competent to issue immigration papers; in case their systems are not yet connected to the national database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens, to additionally notify lists of persons whose immigration papers are issued, extended, revoked or invalidated.

Article 49. Responsibilities of the Government Cipher Committee

1. To provide the Government’s special-use digital signature certification services serving the issuance and management of passports with embedded electronic chips.

2. To provide related ministries and agencies with guidance on how to use the Government’s special-use digital signature certification services serving the issuance and management of passports with embedded electronic chips.

3. To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in building the information system for receiving, storing and exploiting digital certificates serving the issuance and management of passports with embedded electronic chips, which is connected to the International Civil Aviation Organization, for authentication and control of passports with embedded electronic chips.

Article 50. Responsibilities of related agencies and organizations

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in performing the state management of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens in accordance with law.

2. Ministries, central sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees shall promulgate regulations on management of cadres, civil servants, officers, and professional army men of the People’s Army and Public Security forces, and persons engaged in cipher work under their management in exit and entry activities.

3. Agencies and organizations directly managing cadres, civil servants, officers, and professional army men of the People’s Army and Public Security forces, and persons engaged in cipher work in cipher organizations shall organize the implementation of the law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and the regulations referred to in Clause 2 of this Article.

Chapter VIII

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 51. Effect

This Law takes effect on July 1, 2020.

Article 52. Transitional provision

Immigration papers issued before the effective date of this Law remain valid till their expiry dates.

This Law was passed on November 22, 2019, by the XIVth National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 8th session.-